This photo doesn't do the water color justice...
Malo Soifua y'all,
This week flew by! I still have very little to no idea
what's going on all the time but it's okay. It's been super hot this week and we
walk probably 5 miles each day half of it up hill.
Tuesday was extremely hot and we walked the most that day.
Almost all of our appointments fell through so we would walk somewhere far and
they wouldn't be home. Sometimes when you're setting an appointment with a Samoan, they
could say anything and then they won't remember what they said when you show up to
their house. Island life is real and I'm still adjusting to it.
Wednesday we contacted a lot of referrals and set
appointments. We have a lot of investigators which is awesome. Our goal this
week is to set 6 baptismal dates for the month of November. I definitely think
it's possible. Here in Samoa, in almost every family there is at least one person who
is a member of our church. Most of the time they are inactive but often times they are very helpful with
the lessons.
Thursday was rough. Every lesson we had that day we had to
sit cross-legged and it is SO painful. I'm not a flexible person. Each lesson
is usually an hour long and my legs are aching within 5 minutes. It's extremely
disrespectful in this culture to sit any other way so I just have to tough it
out. When the lesson is over I can hardly stand up to give them a handshake.
Everyone says it takes like 5 months to get used to it - so yay for me.
Friday we had a zone meeting. That was in Samoan too so I had
no idea what was said. Elder Anderson and Elder Redd from my MTC group are in
my zone so it was good to see them and know that they're struggling just like I
am. Then we had to go to
a chapel 25 minutes away and we had to walk because one of our bikes doesn't even
have a rim which I was bummed about. I do enjoy walking right next to the ocean
watching the waves crash a mile out because of the reef surrounding the island.
Saturday was Halloween but Samoans don't celebrate it. They
just play volleyball instead. It's what they really love to do.
Sacrament meetings are awesome. Everyone sings so loud. A
Samoan woman singing alone sounds ok, but when they sing together,
it's amazing. My companion and I are the only ones wearing actual pants and
shoes. Everyone else just wears lava-lavas and flip-flops. I'm so jealous.
Samoan kids are the best and they love Palagi missionaries.
A funny thing is they don't usually wear pants. They just wear a big t-shirt that hangs low. You
don't realize it until they sit down. I was totally shocked the first time it
happened but I'm already used to it...ha! ha!
I'm so grateful to be here. It's so hard, by far the hardest
thing I've ever done in my life, but seeing these people make a change of heart
is so beyond rewarding. I can't wait to be able to truly connect with these
people when I can speak their language. I'm working so hard every day to get
better and I'm exhausted after every day.
Alofa ia te latou!!
-Elder Sterner
The main road in our area
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